There is a time in your life sometimes where you feel completely spent: you’re sick of the city you live in, maybe you need something new. You start to look for an adventure to wake you up again. My friend Maggie and I have been super frustrated lately, and have both started to consider a Big Move. I don’t hide the fact that Boston has been a disappointment to me, and I think moving to somewhere like New Orleans or Los Angeles might help. These songs are a promise I made to Maggie to help with the transition that comes with a Big Move - the frustration, the listlessness, the melancholy…but also the excitement and the elation. Some of these songs are usual suspects for my mixes, and some are completely out of left field, but all of them tie to the theme for me. I hope you enjoy them.
- “Shelter” - Ben Nichols
- “Hard Times” - Gillian Welch
- “The Weight of Lies” - The Avett Brothers
- “Devil Town” - Tony Lucca
- “Wild Country” - Wake Owl
- “Useless Desires” - Patty Griffin
- “Lucky Denver Mint” - Jimmy Eat World
- “I Have No Place To Go” - Sweet Water Pirates
- “Ruin” - Cat Power
- “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Waiting For” - U2
- “I Won’t Be Found” - The Tallest Man On Earth
- “Oh My God” - Mark Ronson feat. Lily Allen
- “Home” - Marc Broussard
- “Gold” - Sir Sly
- “Falling” - Haim
- “Long Time Gone” - Dixie Chicks
- “Lovers In Japan” - Coldplay
- “What You Waiting For?” - Gwen Stefani
- “Naive Melody (This Must Be the Place)” - Mysteries of Life
- “If So” - Atlas Genius
- “Pompeii” - Bastille
- “World on Fire” - The Royal Concept
- “Going in the Right Direction” - Robert Randolph & the Family Band
- “Wagon Wheel” - Old Crow Medicine Show
- “The Beginning” - RuPaul
Forget about guns and forget ammunition
‘Cause I’m killing them all on my own little mission
Now I’m not a saint but I’m not a sinner
Now everything’s cool as long as I’m getting thinner
Lily knows me and understands me.
You might laugh, you might frown…walking ‘round London town
Sun is in the sky, oh why, oh why
Would I wanna be anywhere else?
Sun is in the sky, oh why, oh why
Would I wanna be anywhere else?
When you look with your eyes, everything seems nice
But if you look twice you can see it’s all lies
I may say it was your fault
Because I know you could have done more
I find it hard to believe that so many people are reblogging or liking my recent Lily Allen post without realizing that it’s a remix and not the original song.
You know, not that I’m an asshole or anything.
When you flash up on my phone,
I no longer feel alone,
No longer feel alone.
At first, when I see you cry
Yeah, it makes me smile, yeah, it makes me smile
At worst, I feel bad for a while
But then I just smile I go ahead and smile
So I’ve been working on/tweaking this playlist for a month or two now, but it comes from an odd amalgamation of interests. I have been jonesing for the South recently, and after seeing The Help (yes, I’ll admit it), that need grew in strength. In addition, I read three separate feminist texts recently:
- Reality Bites Back: How Guilty Pleasure TV is Making Us Sexist, Shallow, and Socially Irresponsible by Jennifer Pozner
- Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism’s Work Is Done by Susan Douglas
- Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference by Cordelia Fine
All three of these texts really had me thinking about usurping traditional gender roles and the expression of the female in popular culture. Finally, I had some pressure from a few good friends to turn them on to some new music. These three seemingly disparate inspirations merged into one concept and theme in my head. As a result, the playlist “If the Devil was a Girl” was born.
Some of these songs are reminiscent of Southern culture to me, some involve female voices covering and transforming “masculine” songs, and a lot seem to occupy a space that evokes female power and aggression. That said, some are just fun new songs for you to enjoy. The music isn’t necessarily meant to imply a feeling of Halloween, but I could certainly see how it can blend into autumnal sounds, so I created an album cover for it. Besides, it gives me an excuse to use that amazing picture of Daria and Jane slash tie the title to a season (I love bringing things full circle).
I have provided a link to the music here and the track list in its intended order below:
- “Criminal” - Fiona Apple
- “The Cave” - Alex Winston
- “Cold As It Gets” - Patty Griffin
- “Devil Town” - Bright Eyes
- “Billie Holiday (Radio Edit)” - Warpaint
- “Wonderwall” - Cat Power
- “Raphaël” - Carla Bruni
- “Devil Knows You’re Dead” - Delta Spirit
- “Un-Named” - Leona Naess
- “Devil’s in the Jukebox” - Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
- “Legend of a Cowgirl” - Imani Coppola
- “Lollipop (Squeak E. Clean & Desert Eagles Remix)” - The Chordettes
- “22” - Lily Allen
- “Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh” - Say Hi
- “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)” - The Raveonettes
- “Fader” - Temper Trap
- “Abducted” - Cults
- “Terrible Angels” - Charlotte Gainsbourg
- “Bedroom Eyes” - Dum Dum Girls
- “Paris (Ooh La La)” - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
- “Shuffle” - Bombay Bicycle Club
- “Fembot” - Robyn
- “Hello (Original Mix)” - Martin Solveig feat. Dragonette
At first when I see you cry,
yeah it makes me smile, yeah it makes my smile.
At worst I feel bad for a while,
but then I just smile, I go ahead and smile.
Perfection, as always.
It’s sad but it’s true how society says her life is already over
There’s nothing to do and there’s nothing to say
Til the man of her dreams comes along picks her up and puts her over his shoulder
It seems so unlikely in this day and age
Oh, you know, just Lily Allen being fucking amazing and discussing feminism and the impossible standards placed on women in Western society.
And I am a weapon of massive consumption
And it’s not my fault, it’s how I’m programmed to function
Forget about guns and forget ammunition
‘Cause I’m killing ‘em all on my own little mission
I gotta testify, come up in the spot lookin' extra fly...
